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AS OF JUNE 24, 2021 <br />10 <br /> <br />public health emergency, including by identifying how the program addresses the <br />identified need or impact faced by small businesses. This can include assistance to adopt <br />safer operating procedures, weather periods of closure, or mitigate financial hardship <br />resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency. <br /> <br />As part of program design and to ensure that the program responds to the identified need, <br />recipients may consider additional criteria to target assistance to businesses in need, <br />including to small businesses. Assistance may be targeted to businesses facing financial <br />insecurity, with substantial declines in gross receipts (e.g., comparable to measures used <br />to assess eligibility for the Paycheck Protection Program), or facing other economic harm <br />due to the pandemic, as well as businesses with less capacity to weather financial <br />hardship, such as the smallest businesses, those with less access to credit, or those serving <br />disadvantaged communities. For example, a recipient could find based on local data or <br />research that the smallest businesses faced sharply increased risk of bankruptcy and <br />develop a program to respond; such a program would only need to document a population <br />or group-level negative economic impact, and eligibility criteria to limit access to the <br />program to that population or group (in this case, the smallest businesses). <br /> <br />In addition, recognizing the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged <br />communities, the Interim Final Rule also identifies a set of services that are <br />presumptively eligible when provided in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT); to families and <br />individuals living in QCTs; to other populations, households, or geographic areas <br />identified by the recipient as disproportionately impacted by the pandemic; or when these <br />services are provided by Tribal governments. For more information on the set of <br />presumptively eligible services, see the Interim Final Rule section on Building Stronger <br />Communities through Investments in Housing and Neighborhoods and FAQ 2.11. <br /> <br />2.18. Would investments in improving outdoor spaces (e.g. parks) be an eligible use of <br />funds as a response to the public health emergency and/or its negative economic <br />impacts? [6/23] <br /> <br />There are multiple ways that investments in improving outdoor spaces could qualify as <br />eligible uses; several are highlighted below, though there may be other ways that a <br />specific investment in outdoor spaces would meet eligible use criteria. <br /> <br />First, in recognition of the disproportionate negative economic impacts on certain <br />communities and populations, the Interim Final Rule identifies certain types of services <br />that are eligible uses when provided in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT), to families and <br />individuals living in QCTs, or when these services are provided by Tribal governments. <br />Recipients may also provide these services to other populations, households, or <br />geographic areas disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. <br /> <br />These programs and services include services designed to build stronger neighborhoods <br />and communities and to address health disparities and the social determinants of health. <br />The Interim Final Rule provides a non-exhaustive list of eligible services to respond to <br />the needs of communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and recipients